Florida State's most important players for 2018: No. 25

FSU’s Keith Gavin leaps over NC State defenders during a kick return in the Seminoles' home opener at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday. FSU is 0-2 for the first time since 1989.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat )Buy Photo

Wayne - Junior wide receiver Keith Gavin

Gavin looked like the next hometown standout for the Seminoles after coming to FSU as a high four-star recruit from Wakulla High in the 2016 recruiting class.

He didn't play much his freshman year with no catches, but had the game-changing kickoff return against Michigan that set up the winning touchdown in the Orange Bowl in the final game of the 2016 season.

He seemed poised to take the next step as a sophomore as he got more familiar with the offense and received a lot of praise during the spring and fall camps.

But Gavin struggled to consistently catch the ball, and when he did, wasn't able to do a lot after the catch during the 2017 season.

He finished the year with 27 receptions for 278 yards, which were both good enough for third on the team behind Auden Tate and Nyqwan Murray.

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

Gavin was inconsistent in spring practice where he made a number of exceptional plays, but he also dropped a lot of passes and wasn't able to create a lot of space with his routes.

He finished with just two catches for 33 yards in the spring game as the only scholarship wide receiver target for quarterback James Blackman and the Garnet Team.

If he doesn't step up and find a way to be consistent, there's a very talented group of players behind him looking to take his spot in the starting lineup with sophomore Tamorrion Terry and freshmen Tre'Shaun Harrison, Warren Thompson, and Jordan Young all competing against him this season.

He will be a part of the offense with FSU rotating a lot of players in at the wide receiver position, but how much he plays will depend on how consistent he can be.

Curt - Sophomore defensive end Josh Kaindoh

Another defensive lineman comes in at No. 25 in sophomore Joshua Kaindoh.

Kaindoh was one of only five freshmen on the 2017 roster that played in all 13 games. Three of those, Kaindoh along with defensive backs Hamsah Nasirildeen and Stanford Samuels III, play on defense.

Coming into FSU back in January of 2017, Kaindoh’s ceiling was clear. His ridiculous 6-foot-7, 247-pound frame paired with film that showed clear evidence of how exceptional a prospect he could be after he committed to FSU late in the recruiting cycle.

In the defensive end rotation in 2017, Kaindoh finished with 17 total tackles (11 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.

Each of these four sacks came in the game against FCS foe Delaware State, earning him ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors and leaving him one sack short of tying the single-game program record.

On top of those tangible stats, Kaindoh tallied six quarterback hurries.

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

Although his most productive game came against severely outmatched competition, it was still a potential preview of things to come.

Those things could be coming sooner rather than later. With the departures of Josh Sweat and Jalen Wilkerson, Kaindoh is in the conversation to start at end opposite junior Brian Burns heading into 2018.

Even if he doesn’t win the starting job now, Kaindoh should see his reps increase substantially as he transitions from outside rotation member to key cog of the FSU defensive line.